Fossil find shows life on Earth 3.7 billion years ago

Life on Earth is even older than we thought, Australian scientists said on Thursday as they unveiled fossils dating back a staggering 3.7 billion years.

The tiny structures - called stromatolites - were found along the edge of Greenland's ice cap, and were 220 million years older than the previous record holders.

They prove that life emerged fairly shortly - in geological terms - after the Earth was formed some 4.5 billion years ago, said lead researcher Allen Nutman of the University of Wollongong.